Integrated cleaning process for substrate etching

ABSTRACT

A method for removing etchant byproduct from an etch reactor and discharging a substrate from an electrostatic chuck of the etch reactor is provided. A substrate may be electrostatically secured to an electrostatic chuck within a chamber of an etch reactor. A first plasma may be provided into the chamber to etch the substrate, causing an etchant byproduct to be generated. After the etching is complete, a second plasma may be provided into the chamber, wherein the second plasma is an oxygen containing plasma. The etchant byproduct may be removed and the first substrate may be discharged using the second plasma. The first substrate may be removed from the chamber and a second substrate may be inserted into the chamber without first performing an in-situ cleaning between the removal of the first substrate and the insertion of the second substrate.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate, in general, to themanufacture of substrates used as semiconductors, and, in particular toa dechuck process that also performs the function of an in-situ chambercleaning process.

BACKGROUND

Various manufacturing processes are performed while a substrate iselectrostatically secured to an electrostatic chuck (ESC) for theduration of a processing period. The manufacturing processes may involvechemical reactions that cause byproducts to form within themanufacturing environment. After the completion of the processingperiod, the substrate may be removed from the ESC using a conductiveplasma to discharge the electrostatic force securing the substrate tothe ESC. Subsequently, another plasma process is then performed with nosubstrate secured on the ESC to remove the byproducts formed during theprocessing period from the manufacturing environment, commonly referredto as in-situ chamber cleaning (ICC). The ICC process performed after asubstrate is removed from the process chamber adds additional processtime for a manufacturing process and erodes components within themanufacturing environment, including the ESC.

SUMMARY

Some of the embodiments described herein cover a method includingelectrostatically securing a first substrate to an electrostatic chuck(ESC) within a chamber of an etch reactor. The substrate includes one ormore layers, where each layer is composed of a non-metal material. Afirst plasma is provided into the chamber to etch one or more layers onthe substrate. An etchant byproduct is generated as a result of etchingthe substrate layers. After the etching is complete, a second plasma isprovided into the chamber, where the second plasma is an oxygencontaining plasma. The etchant byproduct is removed from the chamber,and the first substrate is discharged from the ESC using the secondplasma. The first substrate is removed from the chamber and a secondsubstrate is inserted into the chamber without performing an in-situchamber cleaning (ICC) between the removal of the first substrate andthe insertion of the second substrate.

In some embodiments, a method includes electrostatically securing afirst substrate to an ESC within a chamber of an etch reactor. Thesubstrate includes one or more layers, where each layer is composed of anon-metal material. A first plasma is provided into the chamber to etchone or more layers on the substrate. An etchant byproduct is generatedas a result of etching the substrate. After the etching is complete, asecond plasma is provided into the chamber, where the second plasma isan oxygen containing plasma. The etchant byproduct is removed from thechamber using the second plasma. A third plasma is provided into thechamber, where the third plasma is an inert, non-oxygen containingplasma. The first substrate is discharged using the third plasma torelease the first substrate from the ESC and is removed from thechamber. A second substrate is inserted into the chamber without firstperforming an ICC between removal of the first substrate from thechamber and insertion of the second substrate.

In some embodiments, a method includes electrostatically securing afirst substrate to an ESC within a chamber of an etch reactor. The firstsubstrate includes one or more layers, where each layer is composed of anon-metal material. A first plasma is provided into the chamber to etchthe layers on the substrate. An etchant byproduct generates as a resultof etching the substrate. After the etching is complete, a second plasmais provided into the chamber where the second plasma is an oxygencontaining plasma. A first portion of the etchant byproduct is removedfrom the chamber using the second plasma for a first time period whilethe first substrate remains electrostatically secured to the ESC. Thefirst substrate is discharged using the second plasma to release thefirst substrate from the ESC. A second portion of the etchant byproductis removed from the chamber using the second plasma for a second timeperiod during discharging. The first substrate is removed from thechamber and a second substrate is inserted into the chamber withoutfirst performing an in-situ chamber cleaning between removal of thefirst substrate from the chamber and insertion of the second substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements. It should be noted that differentreferences to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are notnecessarily to have the same embodiment, and such references mean atleast one.

FIG. 1 illustrates a sectional view of a processing chamber.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example time line of a traditional substrateetching process, which includes an in-situ chamber cleaning (ICC).

FIG. 2B illustrates an example time line of an etch process withintegrated dechuck and clean steps, in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 2C illustrates another example time line of an etch process withintegrated dechuck and clean steps, in accordance with embodimentsherein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a process recipe table for an etch process withintegrated dechuck and clean steps, in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 4A illustrates a method for dechucking a substrate from anelectrostatic chuck and cleaning a processing chamber, in accordancewith embodiments described herein.

FIG. 4B illustrates a detailed method for dechucking a substrate from anelectrostatic chuck and cleaning a processing chamber, in accordancewith embodiments described herein.

FIG. 5A illustrates another method for dechucking a substrate from anelectrostatic chuck and cleaning a processing chamber, in accordancewith embodiments described herein.

FIG. 5B illustrates another detailed method for dechucking a substratefrom an electrostatic chuck and cleaning a processing chamber, inaccordance with embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the manufacture of integrated circuits, materials such as silicondioxide, silicon nitride, polysilicon, and single crystal silicon aredeposited or otherwise formed on a substrate and are etched inpredefined patterns to form gates, vias, contact holes, trenches, and/orinterconnect lines. Layers of these materials may then be etched using aplasma etch process. During the etching process, a patterned photoresist(also referred to as a mask) may be formed on the substrate to coverportions of the substrate. The exposed portions of the underlyingmaterial that lie between the features of the patterned mask may beetched by capacitive or inductively coupled plasmas of etchant gas.

During the etching process, etchant residue (often referred to as“debris”) deposits on the walls and other component surfaces inside theetching chamber. The composition of the etchant residue depends upon thechemical composition of vaporized species of etchant gas, the materialbeing etched, and the photoresist on the substrate. For example, whenoxide, nitride or other oxygen or nitrogen-containing layers are etched,oxygen or nitrogen containing gaseous species are vaporized or sputteredfrom the substrate onto the surfaces inside the etching chamber. Inaddition, the photoresist on the substrate is also vaporized by theetchant gas to form gaseous hydrocarbon, fluorocarbon, chlorocarbon, oroxygen-containing species. The vaporized and gaseous species condense toform etchant residue comprising polymeric byproducts (also referred toherein as etchant byproducts) composed of highly fluorinated and/orchlorinate hydrocarbons. The polymeric byproducts deposit as thin layersof etchant residue on the walls and components in the chamber. Thecomposition of the etchant residue varies considerably across thechamber surface depending on the composition of the localized gaseousenvironment, the location of the gas inlet and exhaust ports, and thegeometry of the chamber. The etchant byproduct formed on the etchingchamber surfaces is periodically cleaned to prevent contamination of thesubstrate. Typically, after processing each wafer, an in-situ “dryclean” chamber cleaning (ICC) process is performed in an empty etchingchamber after a processed substrate has been removed to clean thechamber. Performing such ICC processes between wafer plasma etchprocesses can significantly increase the processing time associated withprocessing a single wafer or batch of wafers using a plasma etchreactor.

The present disclosure eliminates an ICC process that is typicallyperformed on an empty chamber between wafer etch cycles. In embodiments,after the etching process and while a substrate is secured to an ESC, anoxygen-containing gas is introduced into the chamber and energized toform an oxygen plasma. The oxygen plasma reacts with the etchantbyproducts to completely remove the debris. In addition, the oxygenplasma serves to discharge the electrostatic force on the substrate todechuck the substrate being electrostatically held on the ESC.Accordingly, a single plasma process may be performed to both dechuck asecured substrate and to remove byproducts from the chamber. Byeliminating the ICC process typically performed each time after anetched wafer is removed from the chamber, overall substrate processingtime decreases significantly. For example, total processing time may bereduced by approximately 13% or more in embodiments, resulting inapproximately a 10-15% improvement (e.g., a 13% improvement for someprocesses) in throughput for an etch reactor. Additionally, replacingthe standard ICC process with an integrated oxygen cleaning and dechuckprocess extends the lifetime of components within the chamber, such asthe ESC, that would typically suffer from erosion during ICC. This isbecause the cleaning is performed while the substrate is stillpositioned on the ESC, which protects the ESC from erosion by thecleaning process.

It should be noted that in embodiments the oxygen plasma does notsufficiently remove etchant byproduct from a chamber if the substrate iscomposed of a metal material. When a substrate composed of a metalmaterial is etched, the etchant byproduct will also contain that metalmaterial. Oxygen plasma may soften the metal containing etchantbyproduct, but will not completely remove the etchant byproduct.Accordingly, for processes that etch metal containing substrates an ICCstep is still performed following the etching and dechucking steps.

FIG. 1 illustrates a sectional view of a semiconductor processingchamber 100, in accordance with embodiments. The processing chamber 100may be used for processes in which a corrosive plasma environment isprovided. For example, processing chamber 100 may be a chamber for aplasma etcher or plasma etch reactor, a plasma cleaner, plasma enhancedCVD or ALD reactors and so forth.

In one embodiment, processing chamber 100 includes a chamber body 102and a showerhead 130 that enclose an interior volume 106. Showerhead 130may include a showerhead base and a showerhead gas distribution plate.Alternatively, showerhead 130 may be replaced by a lid and a nozzle insome embodiments, or by multiple showerhead components and plasmageneration units in other embodiments. Chamber body 102 generallyincludes sidewalls 108 and a bottom 110.

An outer liner 116 may be disposed adjacent to sidewalls 108 to protectchamber body 102. Outer liner 116 may be fabricated and/or coated with abi-layer coating. In one embodiment, outer liner 116 is fabricated fromaluminum oxide.

An exhaust port 126 may be defined in chamber body 102, and may coupleinterior volume 106 to a pump system 128. Pump system 128 may includeone or more pumps and throttle valves utilized to evacuate and regulatethe pressure of interior volume 106 of processing chamber 100.

Showerhead 130 may be supported on sidewall 108 of chamber body 102.Showerhead 130 (or lid) may be opened to allow access to interior volume106 of processing chamber 100 and may provide a seal for processingchamber 100 while closed. A gas panel 158 may be coupled to processingchamber 100 to provide process and/or cleaning gases to interior volume106 through showerhead 130 or lid and nozzle. Showerhead 130 may be usedfor processing chambers used for dielectric etch (etching of dielectricmaterials). Showerhead 130 includes a gas distribution plate 133 havingmultiple gas delivery holes 132 throughout the gas distribution plate133. Showerhead 130 may include the gas distribution plate 133 bonded toan aluminum base or an anodized aluminum base. Gas distribution plate133 may be made from Si or SiC, or may be a ceramic, such as Y₂O₃,Al₂O₃, Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (YAG), and so forth. Showerhead 130 and delivery holes132 may be coated with a plasma resistant coating.

Examples of processing gases that may be used to process substrates inprocessing chamber 100 include halogen-containing gases, such as CH₄,CHF₃, and CH₃F, among others, and other gases such as O₂, or N₂O.Examples of carrier gases include N₂, He, Ar, and other gases inert toprocess gases (e.g., reactive gases). The substrate support assembly 148is disposed in the interior volume 106 of processing chamber 100 belowshowerhead 130 or lid. Substrate support assembly 148 holds substrate144 during processing. A ring 146 (e.g., a single ring) may cover aportion of electrostatic chuck 150, and may protect the covered portionfrom exposure during plasma processing. Ring 146 may be silicon orquartz in one embodiment.

An inner liner 118 may be coated on the periphery of substrate supportassembly 148. Inner liner 118 may be a halogen-containing gas resistmaterial such as those discussed with reference to outer liner 116. Inone embodiment, inner liner 118 may be fabricated from the samematerials of outer liner 116.

In one embodiment, substrate support assembly 148 includes a mountingplate 162 supporting a pedestal 152, and an electrostatic chuck (ESC)150. ESC 150 further includes a thermally conductive base 164 and anelectrostatic puck 166 bonded to the thermally conductive base by a bond138, which may be a silicon bond, in one embodiment. Mounting plate 162is coupled to the bottom of 110 of chamber body 102 and includespassages for routing utilities (e.g., fluids, power lines, sensor leads,etc.) to the thermally conductive base 164 and electrostatic puck 166.

Thermally conductive base 164 and/or electrostatic puck 166 may includeone or more optional embedded heating elements 176, embedded thermalisolators 174 and/or conduits 168, 170 to control a lateral temperatureprofile of the substrate support assembly 148. The conduits 168, 170 maybe fluidly coupled to a fluid source 172 that circulates a temperatureregulating fluid through the conduits 168, 170. The embedded isolator174 may be disposed between the conduits 168, 170 in one embodiment.Heater 176 is regulated by a heater power source 178. The conduits 168,170 and heater 176 may be utilized to control the temperature of thethermally conductive base 164. The conduits and heater heat and/or coolthe electrostatic puck 166 and the thermally conductive base 164 may bemonitored using a plurality of temperature sensors 190, 192, which maybe monitored using a controller 195.

The electrostatic puck 166 may further include multiple gas passagessuch as grooves, mesas, and other surface features that may be formed inan upper surface of the puck 166. The gas passages may be fluidlycoupled to a source of a heat transfer (or backside) gas, such as He,via holes drilled in the electrostatic puck 166. In operation, thebackside gas may be provided at controlled pressure into the gaspassages to enhance the heat transfer between the electrostatic puck 166and the substrate 144.

The electrostatic puck 166 includes at least one clamping electrode 180controlled by a chucking power source 182. The clamping electrode 180(or other electrode disposed in the electrostatic puck 166 or base 164)may further be coupled to one or more RF power sources 184, 186 througha matching circuit 188 for maintaining a plasma formed from processand/or other gases within the processing chamber 100. RF power sources184, 186 are generally capable of producing RF signals having afrequency from about 50 kHz to about 3 GHz and a power of up to about10,000 Watts.

During substrate processing, the substrate may be electrostaticallysecured to ESC 150 (also referred to as chucking). The electrodesdisposed in electrostatic puck 166 or base 164 (e.g., clamping electrode180) may generate an electrostatic force between the substrate and ESC150, so as to prevent the substrate from shifting during processing.After substrate processing has completed, the substrate may be removedfrom ESC 150 (also referred to as dechucking) so as to allow for a newsubstrate to be processed. A plasma may be provided into the chamber todischarge any residual electrostatic force left on the substrate andrelease the substrate from the ESC 150 as part of a dechuck process. Theplasma may be an oxygen containing plasma, or an inert, non-oxygencontaining plasma, such as Ar, in embodiments. In embodiments, acombined dechuck and in-situ chamber cleaning (ICC) process is performedusing an oxygen-based plasma after an etch process is complete. Thecombined dechuck and ICC process using the oxygen-based plasma may cleanthe chamber while also discharging the substrate 144 and releasing thesubstrate from the ESC 150. Since the combined dechuck and ICC processare performed while the substrate 144 is on the ESC 150, the ESC 150 isprotected from the plasma used to perform the cleaning, which increasesthe life of the ESC 150 and reduces the number of replacement ESCs thatare used during the lifetime of the chamber 100.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example time line of a traditional substrateetching process sequence 200, which includes performance of atraditional ICC process after a substrate has been removed from aprocess chamber. Traditional etching process sequence 200 may include anetch process 206, a dechuck step 208, and an in-situ chamber cleaning(ICC) step 210 after a substrate has been removed from the chamber.

During etch process 206, an etchant byproduct may be generated as aresult of a reaction between the substrate and plasma used to etch thesubstrate, also referred to as an etchant plasma. The etchant byproductmay be deposited on the walls and other component surfaces within thechamber of the etch reactor. The amount of etchant byproduct maycontinue to accumulate during etch process 206, as illustrated by line220.

Traditional etching process sequence 200 may include dechuck step 208after the completion of etch process 206. During dechuck step 208, theetched substrate may be discharged from an ESC securing the substrate inplace during etch process. The ESC may include a plurality of electrodesdisposed throughout the ESC's surface controlled by a power source. Theelectrodes may establish an electrostatic holding force (e.g., anelectrostatic force) between the ESC and the substrate (also referred toas “chucking” the substrate).

A dechuck plasma may be introduced to the chamber of the etch reactor todechuck (or discharge) the substrate during dechuck step 208. Thedechuck plasma may be provided into the chamber of the etch reactor toact as a conductive path for the charge on the wafer to discharge to thewall of the chamber. The dechuck plasma may be composed of an inert gas,such as Ar. During dechuck step 208, the amount of etchant byproduct inthe chamber will not decrease following the etch process 206, asillustrated by line 224. After the substrate is discharged from the ESC,the substrate may be removed from the chamber. Dechuck step 208 may havea duration of between about 10 seconds to about 30 seconds.

Traditional substrate etching processes also include an ICC step 210after the substrate is removed from the chamber. An ICC plasma may beprovided into the chamber of the etch reactor to remove the etchantbyproduct from the chamber. The ICC plasma generally includes SF₆, NF₃,CF₄, H₂, or NH₃. The ICC plasma may clean the interior of the chamber toprevent etchant byproduct accumulation and/or contamination ofsubstrates used in future etching processes. ICC step 210 may have aduration of between about 60 seconds to about 90 seconds. The amount ofetchant byproduct within the chamber will decrease during ICC step 210.The amount of etchant byproduct in the chamber may be measured bymonitoring the optical emission of the etchant byproduct. When theoptical emission signal from the etchant byproduct drops from a highintensity to a low intensity, as illustrated by line 222, the etchantbyproduct may be completely removed and the chamber is cleaned.

As discussed previously, traditional etching process sequence 200 mayinclude etch process 200 with a duration of about 60 seconds to about120 seconds, dechuck step 208, with a duration of about 15 seconds, andICC step 210 performed after a wafer is removed from the chamber, with aduration of about 60 seconds to about 90 seconds. The overall durationof a traditional etching process sequence 200 may be between about 135seconds to about 225 seconds.

FIG. 2B illustrates example time line of an etch process 230 withintegrated dechuck and clean steps, in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein. Etch process 206, dechuck step 208, and ICC step 210may be replaced with etch process 230 with integrated clean.

Etch process 230 may include etch step 202. During etch step 202, anetchant byproduct may be generated as a result of a reaction between thesubstrate and the etchant plasma. The etchant byproduct may be depositedon the walls and other component surfaces within the chamber of the etchreactor. The amount of etchant byproduct may continue to accumulateduring etch step 202, as illustrated by line 240. Etch step 202 may havea duration of between about 60 seconds to about 120 seconds.

Etch process 230 may include an oxygen flush and dechuck step 232 inplace of dechuck step 208 and ICC step 210 described with respect toFIG. 2A. In some embodiments, an oxygen containing plasma (also referredto as an oxygen-based plasma) is introduced into the chamber of the etchreactor during the oxygen flush and dechuck step 232. The oxygen-basedplasma may act as a dechuck plasma and an etchant plasma, described withrespect to FIG. 2A. The oxygen flush and dechuck step 232 may have aduration of between about 15 seconds to about 45 seconds. Etch process230 with integrated clean may have an overall duration of between about75 seconds to about 150 seconds. This is a significant decrease inoverall process time compared to etching process sequence 200, which hasan overall duration of between about 135 seconds to about 225 seconds.

FIG. 2C illustrates a detailed example time line of etch process 250with integrated dechuck and clean steps, that are performed while asubstrate is secured to an ESC, in accordance with embodiments describedherein. Etch process 206, dechuck step 208, and ICC step 210 of etchingprocess sequence 200, illustrated in FIG. 2A, may be replaced with etchprocess 250, which includes oxygen flush step 252 and oxygen dechuckstep 254.

Etch step 202 may be performed to etch the substrate within theprocessing chamber, in accordance with embodiments described herein. Inone embodiment, the substrate may include one or more layers of anon-metal material. The one or more layers may be composed of an oxidematerial and/or a nitride material. In one embodiment, the substrate mayinclude a stack of a plurality of alternating oxide and nitride layers.

A photoresist may be disposed on a surface of the substrate. Thephotoresist may contain a detailed pattern that is to be etched on thesurface of the substrate. During etch step 202, a first plasma may beintroduced into the chamber of the etch reactor to etch portions of thesubstrate. In one embodiment, the first plasma may be composed of CH₄,CHF₃, CH₃F, or any plasma used to etch non-metal materials.

During etch step 202, an etchant byproduct may be generated as a resultof a reaction between the substrate and the etchant plasma. The etchantbyproduct may be deposited on the walls and other component surfaceswithin the chamber of the etch reactor. The etchant byproduct may be apolymeric byproduct composed of highly fluorinated hydrocarbons. Theamount of etchant byproduct within the chamber may increase during etchstep 202, as illustrated by line 260.

Following etch step 202, a second plasma may be introduced into thechamber of the etch reactor as part of a trim and clean step 204. Thesecond plasma may be introduced to trim the photoresist disposed on thesurface of the substrate. Trimming the photoresist may be performed togenerate a new or different pattern of the photoresist, which then maybe etched on the surface of the substrate during subsequent etch steps202. The second plasma may be an oxygen based plasma (e.g., O₂, O₃, NO,NO₂, NO₃, etc.).

The second plasma may also remove a portion of the etchant byproductfrom the chamber that resulted from etch step 202. As a result, theamount of etchant byproduct within the chamber may decrease. In oneembodiment, the amount of etchant byproduct in the chamber may bemeasured by monitoring the optical emission of the etchant byproduct.When the optical emission signal from the etchant byproduct drops from ahigh intensity to a low intensity, as illustrated by line 262, theetchant byproduct may be completely removed and the chamber is cleaned.In some embodiments, all of the etchant byproduct may be removed fromthe chamber during the trim and clean step 204. In other embodiments,only a portion of the etchant byproduct may be removed during the trimand clean step 204.

Etch step 202 and trim and clean step 204 may be repeated until thesubstrate displays a target etched pattern. Etch process 206 may have aduration of about 60 seconds to about 120 seconds. In one embodiment,the duration of etch process 206 may depend on the target etched patternof the substrate (e.g., the number of etch steps 202 and trim and cleansteps 204 to be completed). Upon completion of etch process 206, thechamber of the etch reactor may contain etchant byproduct.

Etch process 230 may include an oxygen flush step 252 and oxygen dechuckstep 254 that is performed after etch step 202 and trim and clean step204 are complete. In one embodiment, oxygen flush step 252 and oxygendechuck step 254 may be completed simultaneously, as illustrated withoxygen flush and dechuck step 232 of FIG. 2B. In another embodiment,illustrated in FIG. 2C, oxygen flush step 252 and oxygen dechuck step254 may be completed as separate processes.

During oxygen flush step 252, an oxygen containing plasma may beprovided for a duration of time sufficient to remove a first portion ofthe etchant byproduct form the etch reactor. The oxygen-based plasma maybe composed of a plasma of O₂, O₃, NO, NO₂, NO₃, or a mixture thereof.In one embodiment, the oxygen plasma may be provided for a durationbetween about 5 seconds to about 45 seconds. The oxygen-based plasma maysoften and remove a portion of the etchant byproduct that resides in thechamber of the etch reactor. In one embodiment, the oxygen-based plasmamay not completely remove all etchant byproduct from the chamber.

During oxygen dechuck step 254, the same oxygen containing plasma maycontinue to be provided. However, a chucking electrode of the ESC may beactivated during the oxygen flush step and may be deactivated during theoxygen dechuck step. Accordingly, the oxygen containing plasmadischarges the substrate from the ESC securing the substrate in placeduring oxygen dechuck step 254. The oxygen-based plasma may be composedof a plasma of O₂, O₃, NO, NO₂, NO₃, or a mixture thereof.

The ESC may include a plurality of electrodes disposed throughout theESC's surface controlled by a power source. The electrodes may establishan electrostatic holding force (e.g., an electrostatic force) betweenthe ESC and the substrate. The oxygen-based plasma may act as aconductive path for the charge on the chucked substrate, thus allowingthe substrate to be discharged. The oxygen-based plasma may alsocontinue to soften and remove the etchant byproduct that resides in thechamber of the etch reactor that was not removed during oxygen flushstep 252. The combined processing time of the oxygen flush step 252 andoxygen dechuck step 254 may be sufficient to completely remove anybyproducts from the chamber. In some instances, the oxygen dechuck stepalone is sufficient to completely remove all byproducts from thechamber. In some embodiments, the time at which the substrate fullydischarges corresponds approximately to the time at which the last ofthe byproduct is removed from the chamber. Accordingly, oxygen flushstep 252 and/or oxygen dechuck step 254 (which is a combined dechuck andICC process) eliminates the traditional ICC step 210 shown in FIG. 2A.

The oxygen plasma of oxygen dechuck step 254 may be provided for aduration of time sufficient to discharge the substrate from the ESC. Inone embodiment, the duration of time may be between about 15 seconds toabout 45 seconds. In one embodiment, the duration of time may be betweenabout 15 to about 30 seconds. Overall, the duration of time to completeetch process 250 may be between about 75 seconds to about 150 seconds.

FIG. 3 illustrates a process recipe table 300 for an etch process withcombined dechuck and clean steps. In one embodiment, process recipetable 300 may reference conditions and controls utilized in etch process230 with integrated clean illustrated in FIG. 2C. Process recipe table300 may reference various controls and conditions that may bemanipulated to minimize the duration of time to complete oxygen flushand dechuck step 232 described with respect to FIG. 2B.

General section 302 of recipe table 300 may provide general informationabout each step being performed during the etch process. General section302 may provide information regarding the type of action that is beingperformed during each step, the order in which each step of the etchprocess is performed, and the duration of time to perform each step. Inone example steps 312 and 314 may correspond with oxygen flush anddechuck step 232 described with respect to FIG. 2B, or oxygen flush step252 and oxygen dechuck step 254 described with respect to FIG. 2C. Steps316 may correspond with steps outlined in a process of record (POR)associated with the etch process.

RF control section 304 may provide information regarding the sourcepower and bias power for each step performed during the etch process. Inone embodiment, oxygen flush step 312 and/or substrate dechuck step 314may be performed with a source power of between about 1500 Watts (W) toabout 4500 W. In one embodiment, oxygen flush step 312 and/or substratedechuck step 314 may be performed with a source power of between about2000 to about 3000 W. Oxygen flush step 312 and/or substrate dechuckstep 314 should not be performed with a source power of below about 1500W in one embodiment to ensure that the etchant byproduct within thechamber may be effectively removed during oxygen flush step 312 and thesubstrate may be adequately discharged from the ESC during substratedechuck step 314. In one embodiment, oxygen flush step 312 and/orsubstrate dechuck step 314 may be performed with a bias power betweenabout 0 W to about 50 W. In another embodiment, bias power may not beused to perform oxygen flush step 312 and/or substrate dechuck step 314.As such, oxygen flush step 312 and/or substrate dechuck step 314 may beperformed with a bias power of about 0 W.

Thermal control section 306 may provide information regarding thetemperature of various points of the ESC supporting the substrate duringthe etch process. For example, the temperatures of the cathode electrodedisplaced in the ESC (e.g., T_(C), as well as various portions of theESC surface, including the inner portion (e.g., T₁, the middle-innerportion (e.g., T_(MI)), the middle-outer portion (e.g., T_(MO)), and theouter portion (e.g., T_(O)), may differ during the etch process.

Gas control section 308 may provide information regarding the internalpressure of the chamber within the etch reactor. In one embodiment, theinternal pressure of the chamber may be between about 10 mTorr and about60 mTorr during oxygen flush step 312 and/or substrate dechuck step 314.In one embodiment, the internal pressure of the chamber may be betweenabout 20 to about 500 mTorr during oxygen flush step 312 and/orsubstrate dechuck step 314.

Gas control section 308 may further provide information regarding thetotal gas distribution (TGD) from a gas source component (e.g.,showerhead) of the etch reactor. Plasmas used to complete oxygen flushstep 312 and substrate dechuck step 314 may be formed from gasesintroduced to the chamber of the etch reactor via a gas sourcecomponent. The gas may be introduced from a center (C) portion, a middle(M) portion, or an edge (E) portion of the gas source component. Thetotal gas distribution may be manipulated so that gas may be introducedinto the chamber from C, M, and/or E portions of the gas sourcecomponent during the etch process. The total gas distribution may bebetween 0-100% for each of the C, M, and/or E portions of the gas sourcecomponent. In one embodiment, the total gas distribution may beessentially equal between the C, M, and E portions (e.g., 33%distribution to C portion, 33% distribution to M portion, and 34%distribution to E portion).

Gases section 310 may provide information regarding the flow rate ofeach gas utilized for each step of the etch process. In one embodiment,O₂ may be used as an oxygen source for oxygen flush step 312 andsubstrate dechuck step 314. O₂ may be the only gas provided to thechamber of the etch reactor during oxygen flush step 312 and substratedechuck step 314 in some embodiments. In one embodiment, O₂ may beprovided at a flow rate of between about 500 and about 1500 standardcubic centimeter per minute (sccm). In one embodiment, O₂ may beprovided at a flow rate of between about 800 and about 1000 sccm.

FIG. 4A illustrates a method 400 for dechucking a substrate from anelectrostatic chuck and cleaning a processing chamber, in accordancewith embodiments described herein. At block 410, a first substrate maybe electrostatically secured to an ESC within an etch reactor. The ESCmay contain a plurality of electrodes to provide an electrostatic forcebetween the ESC and the first substrate. The electrostatic force maysecure the first substrate to the ESC and prevent it from shiftingduring the etch process.

The first substrate may include one or more layers of a non-metalmaterial. The one or more layers may be composed of an oxide materialand/or a nitride material. In one embodiment, the first substrate mayinclude a stack of a plurality of alternating oxide and nitride layers.A photoresist may be disposed on a surface of the first substrate. Thephotoresist may contain a detailed pattern that is to be etched on thesurface of the first substrate. The photoresist pattern may differdepending on the application of the substrate (e.g., 3DNAND flashmemory, 2DNAND flash memory, etc.).

At block 412, a first plasma may be provided into the chamber. The firstplasma may be composed of CH₄, CHF₃, CH₃F, or other halogen containingplasma. The first plasma may be provided by a gas distribution componentwithin the chamber, such as showerhead 130 illustrated in FIG. 1 . Atblock 414, the first substrate may be etched by the first plasma. In oneembodiment, one layer of the first substrate (e.g., an oxide layer or anitride layer) may be etched by the first plasma from the surface of thefirst substrate. In another embodiment, all portions of the firstsubstrate surface not covered by a photoresist may be etched by thefirst plasma, while all portions covered by the photoresist may not beetched.

An etchant byproduct may be generated as a result of the etching. In oneembodiment, the etchant byproduct may contain carbon. This may resultfrom the reaction of the carbon based first plasma (e.g., CH₄, CHF₃,CH₃F) and the layer of the substrate being etched. The etchant byproductmay be deposited on the walls and other component surfaces within thechamber of the etch reactor.

At block 416, a second plasma may be provided into the chamber. Thesecond plasma may be an oxygen containing plasma (e.g., O₂, O₃, NO, NO₂,NO₃). At block 418, the etchant byproduct may be removed from within thechamber using the second plasma (e.g., an oxygen plasma). The oxygenplasma may soften and remove all etchant byproduct deposited on thewalls and other component surfaces within the chamber of the etchreactor. The oxygen plasma may be provided for a duration of timesufficient to remove all etchant byproduct from the chamber. In oneembodiment, the oxygen plasma may be provided for a duration of about 10seconds to about 20 seconds.

At block 420, the first substrate may be discharged (e.g., have itscharge removed) and dechucked from the electrostatic chuck using thesecond plasma. The oxygen plasma may act as a conductive path for thecharge on the chucked substrate, allowing the substrate to bedischarged. The second plasma may concurrently remove the etchantbyproduct from the chamber and discharge the first substrate from theelectrostatic chuck.

The duration of time sufficient to completely discharge the substratenot be long enough to completely remove the etchant byproduct from thechamber. In one embodiment, a first portion of the etchant byproduct isremoved from the chamber using the second plasma for a first time periodwhile the first substrate remains electrostatically secured to the ESC,referred to as an oxygen flush process. The first time period may bebetween about 5 seconds to about 30 seconds in some embodiments. Thechucking electrodes of the ESC may then be deactivated, and the firstsubstrate may then be discharged using the second plasma to release thefirst substrate from the ESC. A second portion of the etchant byproductmay be removed from the chamber using the second plasma for a secondtime period during discharging/dechucking. The second time period may bebetween about 10 seconds to about 30 seconds. By providing the secondplasma for the duration of the first and second time period, the firstsubstrate may have enough time to completely discharge and at the sametime be completely cleaned, so as to be safely removed from the ESC.

At block 422, the first substrate may be removed from the chamber. Atblock 424, a second substrate may be inserted into the chamber withoutfirst performing an ICC between the removal of the first substrate fromthe chamber and insertion of the second substrate into the chamber. Bydischarging/dechucking the first substrate from the ESC using an oxygenplasma, the etchant byproduct may be completely removed from the chamberprior to a second substrate being introduced into the chamber. As such,the traditional ICC step may be eliminated from the overall etchingprocess.

FIG. 4B illustrates a detailed method for dechucking a substrate from anelectrostatic chuck and cleaning a processing chamber, in accordancewith embodiments described herein. At block 452, a first substrate maybe electrostatically secured to an ESC within an etch reactor. The ESCmay contain a plurality of electrodes to provide an electrostatic forcebetween the ESC and the first substrate. The electrostatic force maysecure the first substrate to the ESC and prevent it from shiftingduring the etch process.

At block 454, a first plasma may be provided into the chamber. The firstplasma may be composed of CH₄, CHF₃, CH₃F, or other halogen containingplasma. The first plasma may be provided by a gas distribution componentwithin the chamber, such as showerhead 130 illustrated in FIG. 1 . Atblock 456, the first substrate may be etched by the first plasma. In oneembodiment, one layer of the first substrate (e.g., an oxide layer or anitride layer) may be etched by the first plasma from the surface of thefirst substrate. In another embodiment, all portions of the firstsubstrate surface not covered by a photoresist may be etched by thefirst plasma, while all portions covered by the photoresist may not beetched.

An etchant byproduct may be generated as a result of the etching. In oneembodiment, the etchant byproduct may contain carbon. This may resultfrom the reaction of the carbon based first plasma (e.g., CH₄, CHF₃,CH₃F) and the layer of the substrate being etched. The etchant byproductmay be deposited on the walls and other component surfaces within thechamber of the etch reactor.

At block 458, processing logic may determine whether etching of thesubstrate is complete. If etching is complete, then the method mayproceed to block 420. If the etching is not complete, then the methodmay continue to block 464.

At block 460, a second plasma may be provided into the chamber. Thesecond plasma may be an oxygen containing plasma (e.g., O₂, O₃, NO, NO₂,NO₃). At block 462, the photoresist displaced on the surface of thefirst substrate may be trimmed using the second plasma. The photoresistmay be trimmed so to generate a new or different pattern of thephotoresist, which then may be etched onto the surface of the firstsubstrate. The second plasma may also remove a portion of the etchantbyproduct from the chamber that resulted from the etching step of block456. In some embodiments, all of the etchant byproduct may be removedfrom the chamber by the second plasma. In other embodiments, theduration of the trimming process may not be sufficient to completelyremove all etchant byproduct from within the chamber. As such, only aportion of the etchant byproduct may be removed by the second plasma.

The steps performed at blocks 454, 456, 458, 460, and 462 (e.g. theetching and trimming steps) may be repeated multiple times during method450 to achieve a target structure of the first etched substrate. Forexample, the first substrate may be etched in a staircase pattern foruse in various flash memory applications (e.g., 3DNAND). During a firstiteration of the etching and trimming steps, a first plasma may etch aportion of a first layer (e.g. oxide or nitride layer) of the substrate,exposing a second layer. The photoresist displaced on the surface of thefirst substrate may then be trimmed by the second plasma, exposing anunetched surface of the first layer. During the second iteration of theetching and trimming steps, the exposed surface of the first layer, andthe exposed second layer may be etched by the first plasma. Etching thelayered first substrate using this technique may create a staircasedesign in the layers of the substrate. The etching and trimming stepsmay be repeated until the target structure of the etched first substrateis achieved. Although, in some embodiments, the second plasma may removea portion of the etchant byproduct deposited on the surfaces of thechamber, the repeated etching steps may cause the etchant byproduct tobuildup on the surfaces of the chamber, thus indicating a subsequentcleaning step, as described in more detail below.

Once the etch process for the substrate has been determined to becomplete at block 458, the operations of block 464 are performed. Theoperations performed at blocks 464, 466, and 468 may correspond to theoxygen flush and oxygen dechuck steps illustrated in FIG. 2C. In oneembodiment, the oxygen dechuck step may be a combined dechuck and ICCprocess that simultaneously discharges the substrate and cleans thechamber, as illustrated in FIG. 2B. At block 464, a third plasma may beprovided into the chamber of the etch reactor. The third plasma may bean oxygen containing plasma. In one embodiment, the third plasma may becomposed of at least one of O₂, O₃, NO, NO₂, NO₃, or a mixture thereof.

At block 466, the etchant byproduct may be removed from within thechamber using the third plasma (e.g., an oxygen plasma). The oxygenplasma may soften and remove all etchant byproduct deposited on thewalls and other component surfaces within the chamber of the etchreactor. The oxygen plasma may be provided for a duration of timesufficient to remove all etchant byproduct from the chamber. In oneembodiment, the oxygen plasma may be provided for a duration of about 10seconds to about 45 seconds.

At block 468, the first substrate may be discharged (e.g., have itscharge removed) and dechucked from the electrostatic chuck using thethird plasma. The oxygen plasma may act as a conductive path for thecharge on the chucked substrate, allowing the substrate to bedischarged. The third plasma may concurrently remove the etchantbyproduct from the chamber and discharge the first substrate from theelectrostatic chuck.

The duration of time sufficient to discharge the substrate may not belong enough to completely remove the etchant byproduct from the chamber.Accordingly, in one embodiment, a first portion of the etchant byproductmay be removed from the chamber using the third plasma for a first timeperiod while the first substrate remains electrostatically secured tothe ESC, referred to as an oxygen flush process. The first time periodmay be between about 5 seconds to about 30 seconds. The chuckingelectrodes of the ESC may then be deactivated, and the first substratemay then be discharged using the third plasma to release the firstsubstrate from the ESC. A second portion of the etchant byproduct may beremoved from the chamber using the third plasma for a second time periodduring discharging/dechucking. The second time period may be betweenabout 10 seconds to about 30 seconds. By providing the third plasma forthe duration of the first and second time period, the first substratemay have enough time to completely discharge and at the same time becompletely cleaned, so as to be safely removed from the ESC.

At block 470, the first substrate may be removed from the chamber. Atblock 472, a second substrate may be inserted into the chamber withoutfirst performing an ICC between the removal of the first substrate fromthe chamber and insertion of the second substrate into the chamber. Bydischarging/dechucking the first substrate from the ESC using an oxygenplasma, the etchant byproduct may be completely removed from the chamberprior to a second substrate being introduced into the chamber. As such,the traditional ICC step may be eliminated from the overall etchingprocess.

FIG. 5A illustrates another method 500 for dechucking a substrate froman electrostatic chuck and cleaning a processing chamber, in accordancewith embodiments described herein. The steps performed at blocks 510-518may correspond to the steps performed at blocks 410-418 of method 400illustrated in FIG. 4A.

At block 520, a third plasma may be provided into the chamber. The thirdplasma may be an inert, non-oxygen containing plasma. In one embodiment,the third plasma may be composed of Ar, or any other conductive gasesinert to process gases.

At block 522, the first substrate may be discharged using the thirdplasma to release the first substrate from the ESC. In one embodiment,the second plasma may remain in the chamber while the third plasmadischarges the first substrate from the ESC. While the first substrateis discharging from the ESC, the second plasma may continue to removethe etchant byproduct from the chamber. In one embodiment, the secondand the third plasma may remain in the chamber for a duration of about10 seconds to about 30 seconds. In one embodiment, the second plasma maybe removed before the third plasma is provided into the chamber todischarge the first substrate from the ESC. The second and third plasmamay remain in the chamber of a duration of about 10 seconds to about 30seconds each.

At block 524, the first substrate may be removed from the chamber. Atblock 526, a second substrate may be inserted into the chamber withoutfirst performing an in-situ chamber cleaning (ICC) between removal ofthe first substrate from the chamber and insertion of the secondsubstrate into the chamber.

FIG. 5B illustrates another detailed method for dechucking a substratefrom an electrostatic chuck and cleaning a processing chamber, inaccordance with embodiments described herein. The steps performed atblocks 552-566 may correspond to the steps performed at blocks 452-466of method 450 illustrated in FIG. 4B.

At block 568, a fourth plasma may be provided into the chamber. Thefourth plasma may be an inert, non-oxygen containing plasma. In oneembodiment, the fourth plasma may be composed of Ar, or any otherconductive gases inert to process gases.

At block 570, the first substrate may be discharged using the fourthplasma to release the first substrate from the ESC. In one embodiment,the oxygen plasma may remain in the chamber while the fourth plasmadischarges the first substrate from the ESC. While the first substrateis discharging from the ESC, the third plasma may continue to remove theetchant byproduct from the chamber. In one embodiment, the third and thefourth plasma may remain in the chamber for a duration of about 10seconds to about 30 seconds. In one embodiment, the third plasma may beremoved before the fourth plasma is provided into the chamber todischarge the first substrate from the ESC. The third and fourth plasmamay remain in the chamber of a duration of about 10 seconds to about 30seconds each.

At block 572, the first substrate may be removed from the chamber. Atblock 574, a second substrate may be inserted into the chamber withoutfirst performing an in-situ chamber cleaning (ICC) between removal ofthe first substrate from the chamber and insertion of the secondsubstrate into the chamber.

Various tests were conducted to compare the etching process withintegrated clean and dechuck described with respect to embodiments ofthe present disclosure and the traditional substrate etching processsequence described with respect to FIG. 2A. By eliminating the ICCprocess typically performed each time after an etched wafer is removedfrom the chamber, overall substrate processing time decreasessignificantly. For example, total processing time may be reduced byapproximately 10-15% in embodiments, resulting in approximately a 10-15%improvement (e.g., a 13% improvement for some processes) in throughputfor an etch reactor. Also, by eliminating the traditional stand-aloneICC process, the etch rate between the process of record, the oxygenflush, and the oxygen dechuck is stabilized because the overall processis not interrupted to remove the substrate from the chamber before ICC.

As discussed above, by eliminating the ICC process, the overall processtime is reduced from between about 135 to about 225 seconds to betweenabout 75 seconds to about 150 seconds. It was also found that theoxygen-based dechuck, compared with an inert dechuck traditionally used(e.g., an Ar dechuck) resulted in better particle performance within thechamber, causing a lower number of particle adders. For example, an Ardechuck may have about 10 particle adders having a size of at least 35nm or more particle adders, while an oxygen-based dechuck may have lessthan 5 particle adders having a size of at least 35 nm.

Finally, during a marathon test experiment to simulate a productioncase, it was discovered that there was no difference with respect toother production variables by using an oxygen dechuck instead of an Ardechuck. For example, a location correction factor (LCF) comparisonillustrated that there was no wafer movement during the oxygen dechuck,which is expected with an Ar dechuck.

Embodiments are described with reference to a oxygen-based dechuckprocess that is performed at the end of an etch process. However, itshould be understood that in other embodiments the describedoxygen-based dechuck process can be performed at the end of other typesof processes as well. This may minimize or eliminate wafer-free ICCprocesses performed between processes on wafers.

The preceding description sets forth numerous specific details such asexamples of specific systems, components, methods, and so forth, inorder to provide a good understanding of several embodiments of thepresent disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art,however, that at least some embodiments of the present disclosure may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knowncomponents or methods are not described in detail or are presented insimple block diagram format in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringthe present disclosure. Thus, the specific details set forth are merelyexemplary. Particular implementations may vary from these exemplarydetails and still be contemplated to be within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout thisspecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” When the term “about” or “approximately” is usedherein, this is intended to mean that the nominal value presented isprecise within ±10%.

Although the operations of the methods herein are shown and described ina particular order, the order of operations of each method may bealtered so that certain operations may be performed in an inverse orderor so that certain operation may be performed, at least in part,concurrently with other operations. In another embodiment, instructionsor sub-operations of distinct operations may be in an intermittentand/or alternating manner. In one embodiment, multiple metal bondingoperations are performed as a single step.

It is understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will beapparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding theabove description. The scope of the disclosure should, therefore, bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: electrostatically securing afirst substrate to an electrostatic chuck within a chamber of an etchreactor by activating one or more chucking electrodes of theelectrostatic chuck, wherein the first substrate comprises one or morelayers, and wherein each of the one or more layers comprises a non-metalmaterial; providing a first plasma into the chamber; etching the one ormore layers on the first substrate using the first plasma, wherein theetching of the one or more layers causes an etchant byproduct to begenerated; after the etching is complete, providing a second plasma intothe chamber for a first time period that is sufficient to remove atleast a portion of the etchant byproduct from the chamber using thesecond plasma, wherein the second plasma is an oxygen containing plasma;while the second plasma is provided into the chamber for the first timeperiod, monitoring an optical emission corresponding to an amount of theetchant byproduct remaining in the chamber during removal of the etchantbyproduct from the chamber using the second plasma; determining that theoptical emission satisfies a criterion; responsive to determining thatthe optical emission satisfies the criterion, deactivating the one ormore chucking electrodes of the electrostatic chuck; determining asecond time period that is sufficient to electrostatically discharge thefirst substrate using the second plasma; responsive to deactivating theone or more chucking electrodes of the electrostatic chuck, providingthe second plasma into the chamber for the determined second time periodto discharge the first substrate using the second plasma to release thefirst substrate from the electrostatic chuck; removing the firstsubstrate from the chamber; and inserting a second substrate into thechamber without first performing an in-situ chamber cleaning betweenremoval of the first substrate from the chamber and insertion of thesecond substrate into the chamber.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theone or more layers comprise at least one of an oxide layer or a nitridelayer.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more layerscomprises a stack of a plurality of alternating oxide layers and nitridelayers.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plasma comprises atleast one of CH₄, CHF₃, or CH₃F.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thesecond plasma is generated using a source power between about 1500 W and4500 W.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second plasma comprises atleast one of O₂, O₃, NO, NO₂, NO₃, or a mixture thereof.
 7. The methodof claim 6, wherein the second plasma has a flow rate of between about500 sccm and about 1000 sccm.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein anadditional portion of the etchant byproduct is removed from the chamberusing the second plasma during the second time period that is sufficientto electrostatically discharge the first substrate using the secondplasma, and wherein the second time period has a duration of about 10-30seconds.
 9. A method comprising: electrostatically securing a firstsubstrate to an electrostatic chuck within a chamber of an etch reactorby activating one or more chucking electrodes of the electrostaticchuck, wherein the first substrate comprises one or more layers, andwherein each of the one or more layers comprises a non-metal material;providing a first plasma into the chamber; etching the one or morelayers on the first substrate using the first plasma, wherein theetching of the one or more layers causes an etchant byproduct to begenerated; after the etching is complete, providing a second plasma intothe chamber for a first time period that is sufficient to remove atleast a portion of the etchant byproduct from the chamber using thesecond plasma, wherein the second plasma is an oxygen containing plasma;while the second plasma is provided into the chamber for the first timeperiod, monitoring an optical emission corresponding to an amount of theetchant byproduct remaining in the chamber during removal of the etchantbyproduct from the chamber using the second plasma; responsive todetermining that the optical emission satisfies a criterion,deactivating the one or more chucking electrodes of the electrostaticchuck; determining a second time period that is sufficient toelectrostatically discharge the first substrate; providing a thirdplasma into the chamber for the second time period to release the firstsubstrate from the electrostatic chuck, wherein the third plasma is aninert, non-oxygen containing plasma; removing the first substrate fromthe chamber; and inserting a second substrate into the chamber withoutfirst performing an in-situ chamber cleaning between removal of thefirst substrate from the chamber and insertion of the second substrateinto the chamber.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or morelayers comprise at least one of an oxide layer or a nitride layer. 11.The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more layers comprises a stackof a plurality of alternating oxide layers and nitride layers.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the first plasma comprises at least one ofCH₄, CHF₃, or CH₃F.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the second plasmais generated using a source power between about 1500 W and 4500 W. 14.The method of claim 9, wherein the second plasma comprises at least oneof O₂, O₃, NO, NO₂, NO₃, or a mixture thereof.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein the second plasma has a flow rate of between about 500 sccmand about 1000 sccm.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the third plasmacomprises Ar.
 17. A method comprising: electrostatically securing afirst substrate to an electrostatic chuck within a chamber of an etchreactor by activating one or more chucking electrodes of theelectrostatic chuck, wherein the first substrate comprises one or morelayers, and wherein each of the one or more layers comprises a non-metalmaterial; providing a first plasma into the chamber; etching the one ormore layers on the first substrate using the first plasma, wherein theetching of the one or more layers causes an etchant byproduct to begenerated; after the etching is complete, providing a second plasma intothe chamber, wherein the second plasma is an oxygen containing plasma;removing a first portion of the etchant byproduct from the chamber usingthe second plasma for a first time period while the first substrateremains electrostatically secured to the electrostatic chuck; responsiveto removing the first portion of the etchant byproduct from the chamberusing the second plasma, deactivating the one or more chuckingelectrodes of the electrostatic chuck; determining a second time periodthat is sufficient to electrostatically discharge the first substrateusing the second plasma; responsive to deactivating the one or morechucking electrodes from the electrostatic chuck, providing the secondplasma into the chamber for the second time period to electrostaticallydischarge the first substrate using the second plasma to release thefirst substrate from the electrostatic chuck; monitoring an opticalemission corresponding to an amount of a second portion of the etchantbyproduct remaining in the chamber during removal of the second portionof the etchant byproduct from the chamber using the second plasma forthe second time period during the discharging; determining that theoptical emission satisfies a criterion; responsive to determining thatthe optical emission satisfies the criterion, removing the firstsubstrate from the chamber; and inserting a second substrate into thechamber without first performing an in-situ chamber cleaning betweenremoval of the first substrate from the chamber and insertion of thesecond substrate into the chamber.
 18. The method of claim 17, whereinthe first time period is a duration of about 10-30 seconds and thesecond time period has a duration of about 10-30 seconds.
 19. The methodof claim 17, wherein the one or more layers comprise at least one of anoxide layer and a nitride layer.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein thefirst plasma comprises at least one of CH₄, CHF₃, or CH₃F, and thesecond plasma comprise at least one of O₂, O₃, NO, NO₂, NO₃, or amixture thereof.